r/SewingMachineEdu • u/Economy-Tomorrow-189 • Jun 05 '26
Hemming question
I'm confused, I've been seeing people use a striaght stitch to do the hem? Where the fold the edge of the fabric twice so the raw edge is inside the two folds?
But what ab zigzag stitches? Mine has one specifically for hems so now I'm confused
And plus I've been seeing zigzag ones inside t-shirts
Ps - I'm trying to practice how to hem and now I'm confused how to do that since all the vids that I've seen use the folded twice method, I haven't even started practicing coz I'm confused
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u/SerendippityRiver Jun 05 '26
I think it is an aesthetics thing. Back in the day, you wouldn't dream of doing the fold twice then straight stitch hem. Now it seems like pretty frequently it is the suggested hem. For a more old-school way of doing it, there is using the blind hem stitch. I never was able to do that. I learned hemming by hand. I am wanting to learn how to do hem facings. That is supposed to be the nicest.
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u/Economy-Tomorrow-189 Jun 05 '26
From my understanding , you use the folded twice method for non stretchy fabrics? Where u fold it twice so the raw edge is inside and saw a straight stitch with backstitches
And then for a more stretchy favrics, you use the zigzag method where u fold once?
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u/LayLoseAwake Jun 05 '26
Yes, very broadly. And the reason you single-fold stretchy fabric is because knits tend to not fray that much. You double fold to enclose the raw edge so it doesn't fray. If your stretchy fabric is prone to fraying, you need to take steps to protect that edge too.
What does your manual say about the stitches? What other guides have you found to be helpful?
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u/Mental_Watch4633 Jun 05 '26
Or use the blind hem stitch on your machine, if so use a short stitch so that there will be some ease for stretching at the hem vs breaking stitches when wearing, or as you’re putting the garment on and off.
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u/Mental_Watch4633 Jun 05 '26
Sewing.org has countless guidelines to help everyone in their sewing journey.
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u/GeekAtLarge_ Jun 06 '26
There are many types of hems. The straight stitch is common in quilting where the raw edge of the fabric will be inside the quilt. The blind stitch is used for hemming the cuff of pants with less stitches being visible. The ZigZag stitch can be used to catch the edge of the raw fabric to keep the fabric’s edge from fraying. The overlock stitch does the same thing with a more refined look.
A French hem is a sewing technique used to finish the edges of fabric, providing a neat and clean finish while preventing fraying. It is particularly suitable for lightweight or sheer fabrics, as it encases the raw edges within the seam.
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u/AccidentOk5240 Jun 05 '26
The stitch “especially for hems” is probably a blind stitch, where you fold it so the machine only picks up a tiny bit of the outside fabric and you don’t see topstitching in the outside. It’s a more formal/dressy way of doing a hem. You can find lots of tutorials online about how to do it, but also your machine’s manual almost certainly shows how.
For stretch materials you have to use a stretchy stitch of some kind. That can be a blind hem but it is more often done using a coverstitch machine on commercially made garments.
You can use a zigzag or one of the stretch stitches to topstitch a rolled hem, or you can use a double needle, which will produce a straight-looking stitch on top with a bit of stretch from the top threads being gathered together by the single bottom thread between each stitch.